Combined grate and ash-sifter



J. A. LONG.

` COMBINED GRATE AND ASH SIFTER.

APPLICATION HLED JAN. 16, |920.

A 193630427, Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

A TTR/VEYS WITNESSES ETEN? OFFICE.`

JOSEPH A. LONG, OF EAST ORANGE,` NEW JERSEY.

COMBINED GRATE AND ASH-SIFTER.

' recarsi.

Specification oi Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

Application filed January 16, 1920. Serial No. 351,?54.

To c/Z Iw tem t may concern Be it known that l, Josnrrr A. LONG, a citizen oi? the United States, and a resident of East Orange, in the county or" Essex and State ot New Jersey, have invented a new and lmproved Combined Grate and Ash- Sitter, of which the following is a full, cleL f. and exact description.

This invention relates to stoves and furnaces and has particular reference to means For sitting ashes by means applied beneath the grate and operated simultaneously with the shaking of the grate.

Among the objects ot the invention therefore is to provide a construction including a sitter for ashes lofated in the ash pit beneath the grate and having means associated with the grate controlling means to cause the sitting ot the ashes and delivery of the clinkers or unburned lumps of iuel forward oit the ash pit whence they may be scooped up to be reburned or otherwise disposed or'.

l.With the foregoing Vand other objects in View the invention. consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details ot construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a Atfront elevation of the sitter, the furnace being shown diagrammatically.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sitter showing especially the relation of the pivot support thereof to the main portion oi the sitter.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings I show at l() any suitable number, arrangement or design of grate bars indi cated as being movable around pivots ll and each having an arm l2 extending downward and having pivot connection at 13 with actuating means in the nature oi a reciprocating bar le extending horizontally beneath the bars l() and projecting in front of the furnace where it is connected at 15 to a lever i6 having a linlr connection 17 with a lined pivot point 18. An arm 16" is connected to the upper end of the lever for hand operation thereof and the shaking of the grate. T he parts thus iar described are or may be of any suitable or conventional Supported between the grate and the boti torn of theiurnace or the floor upon which it is erected and located on some suitable point back of the center of the ash pit 19 is a pivot rod 2O the same being shown as supported in holes 2l in the'side walls of the ash pit. 22 indicates a sieve or ash sifter shown as constructed of an angle rail 23 and a screen or other reticulated body 24 of a mesh suitable `for the ashes or iiner particles to pass through, but serving to prevent the passage therethrough ot the unburned fue] or clinlrers. The upwardly projecting flange ot the angle member 23 is continuous along the baclr and side portions of the sitter, but is discontinued at the iront providing a discharge mouth 25 for those portions of the material that do not pass through the mesh. rlhe front portion of the structure also includes two downwardly projecting feet 26 which in one position of the sitter are adapted to strike against the floor.r

The pivot rod 20 is disposed at such an elevation within the ash pit as to hold the sitter in an inclined position when the feet 26 are in contact with the floor as shown in Fig. l. At this time the rear portion of the sitter is near the level oi' the grate actuator 14.

.Fixed rigidly to the rear portion of the sitter is a standard 27 the same projecting upward substantially at a right angle to the reticulated body 2e and terminating in an slide hook 27 directed forward. This standard is shown fixed to the sitter at any suit able point adjacent to the center of the bach portion of the angle member 23 and cooperating with the standard is a linger 28 carried by the grate bar actuator le and projecting horizontally therefrom. The sitter is lifted to or toward its horizontal position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1 by direct Contact between the standard 27 and the finger 28 when the actuator 14 is moved rearward7 and when the actuator is moved forward the finger 28 tends to move forward away from the standard allowing the standard and sitter to tilt forward around the pivot 2Ol by reason of the preponderance of weight on that portion of the sitter in front of the rod 20. This forward movement of the actuator therefore causes or permits the dropping of the sifter downward with the feet 26 coming into Vcontact with the floor or bottom of the furnace with sufficient force to agitate the materials that may have been delivered upon the screen 24k from the grate, and such impact causes the sifting through the sifter of the smaller particles and the forward delivery of the heavier particles through the mouth 25 at the front of the furnace. A pan or tray of any suitable size or form may be provided beneath the sifter if desired in order to catch the ashes coming through' the sifter,` but if the pan or tray is not used the ashes can be removed from beneath the sifter by a shovel or the like in theusual manner. For the removal of the ashes by any means the sifter will be held elevated as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l byfmeans of the movement' of the actuator rearward.

The labor necessary for the actuation of the shaking lever is not materially increased by the provision of the sifter as shown herein because the preponderance of weight in the front portion thereof is not important enough to require much force to swing the sifter toward its horizontal position. It will be appreciated therefore that the saving of time and convenience incident to the use of this sifter coincidentally with the normal shaking of the grate are of -vast importance. It is well Vknown that much coal or other useful fuel in a partially or imperfectly burned condition is wasted along with the ashes land many householders hesitate to take steps to prevent this waste of fuel because of the inconvenience and dust that are occasioned by the sifting of ashes by the means usually provided for this purpose.

I claim:

l. The combination with a grate including a reciprocating bar and means to actuate thesame to shake the grate, of an ash sifter located beneath the grate in position to receive the material from the grate, a pivot support for the sifter located at one side of the center of the sifter and constituting a fixed axis around which the sifter is adapted to oscillate, a standard fixed to the sifter and extending upward therefrom,

'and a finger fixed to the bar aforesaid and extending into coperation with the standard whereby when the bar is reciprocated the sifter will be moved around its axis.

2. A device of the nature set forth iu claim l in which the standard is provided with a vhook at its upper end and the iinger is so arranged as to wipe upward along the standard toward said hook when the shaker bar is reciprocated rearward. y

3. il. device of the nature set forth in claim l in which the standard and nger have loose cooperative connection whereby when the shaker bar is moved forward the sifter may be free to drop and cause impact between the front end thereof and the floorV of the ash pit.

JOSEPH A. LONG. 

